The present invention relates to motorized carts and, more particularly, to a golf bag cart to which a motorized unit can be easily affixed as an add-on accessory or to which such a unit can be supplied as an original component thereof.
Many forms of motorized golf bag carts are known, the objectives of which relieve the player from the burden of manually propelling the golf bag carrier over hilly terrain. However, prior constructions fail in one way or another to combine all of the necessary elements or features to provide a device that will:
(a) be adequately resistant to tipping either front to rear or sideways with respect to line of travel;
(b) have proper weight distribution for good traction;
(c) have inherent straight ahead propulsion without constant operator contact and guidance;
(d) be easily steerable by the player following behind the cart; and
(e) be of such a form that permits folding for each of handling in transport to and from the golf course.
To provide for straight ahead propulsion without constant operator guidance, requires that the cart be of a configuration placing on the terrain at all times a minimum of three wheels firmly directed straight ahead. Examples of carts providing this feature are shown in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,094,185; 3,815,699; 3,871,464. Each of these three examples however lack one or more of the other listed features essential to providing ideal propulsion. Of the three patents cited, only No. 3,094,185 has a configuration that meets most of the above criteria except for the serious omission of a capability for steering. In the device of this patent a single, driven front wheel is well loaded to provide positive traction with excellent straight ahead propulsion without continuous operator contact.
Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,815,699 and 3,871,464 disclose configurations which use a rear wheel drive rather than the more ideal front wheel drive. U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,699 has a configuration, while permitting easy cart fold up tends to unweight or unbalance the front, fixedly-directed wheel entirely when moving on steeper inclines. This results in a tendency for the cart to stray from a straight line movement, unless the operator is in continuous contact and control. Furthermore this configuration has a tendancy to easily tip front to rear. This configuration also does not provide true steerability in that the entire cart must be tipped to remove the front wheel from ground contact to permit steering.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,464 has a lesser problem in providing straight ahead, unattended propulsion due to a relatively low front wheel load since the golf bag load is placed more centrally; however, this defeats the need to place most of the total weight on the traction-providing wheels. This configuration will, therefore, propel less well on steeper inclines, and is also not foldable for ease of transportation to and from the golf course.